1. What year will the current existing levy taxes be off of our tax bills?
The district's current levy for bonds will be done after the 2015 pay 2016 tax levy cycle.

2. Is there a cap on how much one family is required to pay for the school levy?
There is no cap; all individuals pay a tax that is calculated based on the type of property they own and the market value of that property. Tax relief may be available for individuals that meet certain qualifications.

3. Why should farm families continue to pay the majority of the taxes just because they have property in the school district?
While agricultural property does make up a large share of total market value in Royalton Public School District, residential homestead properties actually have the largest share in the total market value. All of these different types of property have varying class rates, set by the Legislature annually so that some property types pay a greater share of the property tax than others. For example, commercial properties pay more than residential and agriculture properties. 2010/11 Percent of Total Tax Capacity Net Tax Capacity

Residential homestead

$ 1,449,337

43.35%

Agricultural

1,172,246

35.06%

Commercial/industrial

210,940

6.31%

Public utility

150,097

4.49%

Railroad operating property

45,892

1.37%

Non-homestead residential

193,441

5.79%

Commercial & residential seasonal/rec.

44,356

1.33%

Personal property

77,145

2.31%

Total

$ 3,343,454

100.00%

The values of both types of properties are included in both their respective classes. The numbers represent the percentages of property value by class. So if you own both Residential Homestead and Agricultural Property, you are represented in both categories. We recommend that you calculate the tax impact for each parcel using our tax calculator.

4. Is there no way to tax income rather than property?
No. The property tax system provides a stable source of revenue for those governmental entities that depend on the money raised by property taxes for a major source of their funding. Compared with sales or income taxes, the property tax is less susceptible to recessions or other changes in income or spending trends.

5. What year would the proposed levy taxes be complete and off our tax assessments?
The final levy cycle for these bonds would be in 2034 pay 2035.

6. If we own land in another County will this be taxed as well?
You will only be taxed from these bonds on parcels of property within the Royalton Public School District boundaries.

7. I would like to ask you to address the issue of drop off/pick up at the Middle/High School in your plans for the changes to the school. What we have now is NOT working, it is extremely chaotic. Just this week the buses have changed the way they park in the morning at the high school, they now effectively block the whole drop off area and those of us who drive children/grandchildren to school. I'm sure this is being done for reasons of safety for the children, but I am not understanding it. The buses were dropping off students at the sidewalk (which seemed pretty safe to me), now the buses are parking horizontally across the drive and some of them are as far as 10-12 feet from the sidewalk. Parents vehicles are then lining up 3 to 4 abreast in this blocked off area and children are getting out and dodging parked and moving cars as they make their way to school. Can anything be done? Was this changed announced and did I miss it? Are we supposed to drop them off someplace else? I realize most of these kids are high school students and should be able to walk around cars, but some of them are young and immature or special needs kids, and then you throw in the drivers who only think of themselves and their need to be in a hurry and it just creates a huge mess.

Afternoon pickup has improved since there are fewer students parking on the west side of the road in front of the school. There are a lot of students who are picked up and do not ride the bus, these children still have to walk on the road to get to their rides. Ideally I would like to see a sidewalk along the east side of the road so children are not walking on snow and ice covered roads amongst moving cars.

The employee parking will be moved to a new location on the north side of the Media Center. We will have separate drop off/pick up for our buses and parents/grandparents. In fact, there will be a south and north parent/grandparent drop off/pick up. The buses only drop off/pick up will be in the center of the two. We will have three loops with an entrance and exit – parents/grandparents (2) and buses (1).

I’m most certain the City of Royalton was recently approved for a grant to add a sidewalk along Hawthorn Street (where you’re talking about) and connecting Nature Rd to the elementary school.

8. What impact is open enrollment having on the need to add space at the schools? Without open enrollment, would as much space need to be added?

$24,935,056 is the amount of dollars that'll be available for construction. $4,418,400 is the project costs attributed to open enrollment. The remaining $20,516,656 is attributed to resident student numbers and growth.

In the past three years, open enrollment decreased 8 students while during the same period of time resident (students living in Royalton School District) increased 97 students.

It's important pointing out open enrollment generates revenue for the school district. This school year alone (2014-15) the district will net gain approximately $951,896 from open enrollment. There will be approximately $1,697,962 in open enrollment revenue and $746,066 in open enrollment expenditures. The significant expenditures are salaries for additional employees, capital outlay, and transportation.

The annual net gain of nearly a million dollars from open enrollment will sufficiently cover the additional $4,418,400 in construction costs. Note: The total construction project will be amortized over 20 years.

9. With the idea of building off south side of the high school, where will the practice field & baseball/softball field move to?

The field next to the south gym is used for physical education classes, community education sports, and football practices. It will be relocated to the student parking lot on the east side of the school. The student parking lot will move to the north with entrances and exits directly connecting with Nature Rd.

The new field will include two infields for baseball and softball. The fields will be large enough for the younger grades but not varsity. Our varsity baseball and softball fields will not be relocated now or anytime in the foreseeable future. They already serve our students very well.

10. Will a playground be needed for the preschool and kindergarten students?

Yes, moving the preschool and kindergarten students to the MS/HS campus will require playground equipment. The playground equipment will be chosen to match the ages and sizes of preschool and kindergarten children. The fenced in playground area will be directly connected and accessible to the classrooms. The school board set aside money two years ago for these types of anticipated costs in a building project.

11. Which addresses are going to be affected by elementary expansion and how are they going to be effected?

No personal dwelling or home will be affected by the remodeling or minor expansion of the elementary school.